SCARBOROUGH – Visiting North Yarmouth built an increasing lead for three and a half quarters Saturday, and even a late-fourth-quarter Scarborough rally, kicked off by a fiery John Wheeler goal, wasn’t enough to overcome the deficit as the Panthers emerged triumphant, 8-5.
The loss is the first of the season for the Storm, who were 4-1 heading into Wednesday’s matchup with Deering. NYA is now 4-1 after beating Fryeburg Academy on Monday.
“We weren’t finishing plays,” Scarborough head coach Joe Hezlep said, after the game, “all over the field offensively, defensively just not completing things. Not catching passes, not playing help side defense very well.”
Scarborough held North Yarmouth scoreless through eight minutes, but then Panther Haley Cunningham broke the deadlock, scoring the game’s first point. Six minutes later, teammate Jacob Scammon tallied his first goal of the afternoon, and 46 seconds after that, Oliver Silverson did the same. The Red Storm had fallen behind early, 3-0.
“[We’ve] got to give NYA credit; they cleared the ball … better than anyone we’ve seen,” Hezlep said. “We were riding pretty well, and they stuck every pass they had to, to get a lot of possessions. I think that was the biggest thing for us, for most of the game. [We were] unable to create loose-ball opportunities.”
Shortly into the second, Scarborough scored two in rapid succession. Jurien Garrison got the first, and Wheeler the second on a little little lob by the North Yarmouth goalie intended for a nearby teammate. Wheeler intercepted the pass and turned it into a quick point.
The Panthers, however, earned three more before the half, snuffing the Storm’s early comeback efforts. North Yarmouth added another in an otherwise tense-but-scoreless third quarter, and began the fourth quarter with two more. The Panthers stood on top, 8-2, and appeared firmly in control as the game entered its final minutes.
But then Wheeler, dashing through coverage in front of the North Yarmouth goalie, jumped, caught a pass from behind the net, and whipped off a shot, a goal, while still in the air. The play seemed to rejuvenate Scarborough, because moments later, Andrew Farrington scored on an assist by Cam Loiselle, and a short time after that, Wheeler picked up his third of the game, an easy snap into an open net the North Yarmouth goalie had come out too far.
The score stood 8-5, but three more goals in just under a minute proved too tall an order for the Red Storm to fill. North Yarmouth held on to win.
“Their goalie played really well, and our goalie [Jordan Flannery] made the saves he should have,” Hezlep said. “We put him in a really tough spot, often, early, and they finished on some shots, but in lacrosse, if you’re giving up those kinds of shots, they’re going to score. They’re supposed to. There’s not a whole lot your goalie can do. But he made all the saves he should, and some he shouldn’t. He played well, again.”
Hezlep has a straightforward plan for upcoming Red Storm practices. “Catching and throwing,” he said. “Back to the basics. Just catch and throw.”
North Yarmouth’s Oliver Silverson had two goals. Matt Hawkins, Elliot Wellenbach, and Cunningham had one a piece, while Jacob Scammon scored three.
For Scarborough, Garrison had one goal on six shots and Farrington had one goal on two shots. Wheeler had three goals on 16 shots.
Scarborough junior Matthew Murphy carries the ball upfield against North Yarmouth Saturday afternoon. Staff photo by Adam Birt
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